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UNRWA Launches New Website

16 September 2013

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is pleased to announce the launch of a new, redesigned website, which will help users all over the world learn more about the Agency and its work for Palestine refugees. The address will remain the same, ensuring continuity for current users: http://www.unrwa.org.

The website, with its user-friendly design, simplified navigation and increased use of multimedia, will make it easier for anyone who is interested, including researchers and journalists, to find and access information and share it with others, integrating UNRWA into the real-time online conversation about Palestine refugees. Available in both Arabic and in English, the website reflects the Agency's commitment to reaching out to individuals and institutions in the Arab world, as well as to the Palestine refugees themselves.

The new website also meets some of the critical needs of UNRWA partners, including donor governments, other international organizations and private-sector institutions. This serves to increase the visibility of our work with our partners, while also increasing the transparency of our relationships.

The website consolidates a great deal of valuable information in a single, centralized location. UNRWA has worked with and for Palestine refugees for over 60 years, and our histories are intertwined. In addition to the archive of historical background the website offers, it also provides an important focus on the current issues affecting the region, such as the ongoing armed conflict in Syria and its impact on the country's more than 500,000 Palestine refugees.

Announcing the launch of the new website, UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi said: "The new UNRWA website is not just a new look or additional content. This redesign incorporates many innovative approaches and a broad range of materials. It will promote a better understanding of the Agency’s work and the situation of Palestine refugees in the Near East among diverse audiences – including experts and researchers, our current and future partners and, of course, those whom UNRWA has served for over 60 years.”

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Background Information

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.

Financial support to UNRWA has not kept pace with an increased demand for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, expanding need, and deepening poverty. As a result, the Agency's General Fund (GF), supporting UNRWA’s core activities and 97 per cent reliant on voluntary contributions, has begun each year with a large projected deficit. Currently the deficit stands at US$ 81 million.